Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has raised serious questions over the Indian team's selection policy after all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy was left out of the playing XI for the first ODI against South Africa -- even with Hardik Pandya unavailable.
After this snub, it looks difficult for Shubman Gill at this point to make a comeback to the T20 team with plenty of talented young players waiting in the wings.
When players select themselves, the selectors' job becomes delightfully simple. But did the Indian selectors have that luxury while picking the T20 World Cup squad for the 2026 T20 World Cup? asks K R Nayar.
Defending champions RCB bolstered their squad by securing Iyer, Jacob Duffy and Mangesh Yadav, among others during the auction held on December 16 in Abu Dhabi.
Tilak Varma says out-of-form India T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav 'needs just one innings' to rediscover the mojo with which he once dominated bowlers like a marauder.
IMAGES from the 3rd T20I between India and South Africa in Dharamsala on Sunday.
Shubman Gill is set to make a comeback during the upcoming five-match T20I series against South Africa, starting in Cuttack, on December 9.
The Indian selectors will be announcing the team for the three-match ODI series against the Black Caps, starting January 11 in Vadodara and there have been speculations about whether Pant can hold on to his place in the squad.
Captain Suryakumar Yadav believes Hardik Pandya's return will restore the tactical depth and balance of India's T20 team.
'Jitesh Sharma has shown he is quite a capable player. He can bat lower down the order and look to hit the big shots even with a slightly older ball.'
In the chase, India lost Shubman Gill for a golden duck, while Marco Jansen got rid of Abhishek Sharma and India skipper Suryakumar Yadav, before Baartman broke the 35-run stand between Axar Patel and Varma.
Upset fans express disappointment after 4th T20I abandoned due to air pollution.
Shubman's T20I series participation against South Africa doubtful; Samson, Jaiswal contenders for the slot
India all-rounder Axar Patel was on Monday ruled out of the remaining two T20 Internationals against South Africa due to illness with the BCCI's selection committee naming Shahbaz Ahmed as his replacement.
Ravichandran Ashwin stressed that Washington Sundar must be treated as a frontline bowling all-rounder and given a full quota of overs to build confidence with the bat as well.
A toe injury suffered before the fourth T20I is set to keep Gill out of the final T20I here as India would want to take a cautious route, more so when there is a ready replacement for the top order slot in Sanju Samson.
The T20 WC champions will look to enter this phase with clarity of intent as they refine roles, streamline combinations and settle the XI that will carry the weight of expectations in front of home crowds.
From Royal Challengers Bengaluru's historic first IPL title to star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra finally breaking the iconic 90-meter mark to India women winning their first cricket World Cup, this was the year of long-awaited victories and record-breaking feats.
Hardik Pandya is finally set to return to cricketing action.
Jitesh Sharma, who has emerged as India's preferred wicketkeeper-batter in T20 format with less than two months left for the World Cup, has played down his 'competition' with Sanju Samson in the squad, saying it only brings out his "A-game" to the fore, strengthening the side.
Save Shreyas Iyer, who will take a lot more time to get fit, others are expected to represent their state teams.
The fourth T20I between India and South Africa in Lucknow was called off without a ball being bowled on Wednesday, as dense fog and worsening air quality rendered playing conditions unsafe at the Ekana stadium.
At a loss to explain South Africa's capitulation in the series-opener, their batting coach Ashwell Prince said the visitors simply failed to answer the questions posed by India's "formidable" bowlers while being dismissed for their lowest T20I total of 74 Cuttack.
The controversial decision to select Shubman Gill in place of a well-settled Sanju Samson as the opener has backfired for the Indian team so far.
India cricketers, along with coach Gautam Gambhir, visited Shri Jagannath Temple in Odisha's Puri on Tuesday to seek blessings ahead of the first T2OI of the five-match series against South Africa, set to be played on the same day at Cuttack's Barabati Stadium.
'Gill is recovering really well, it's a speedy recovery.'
As India gear up for the T20 World Cup at home, the selectors have backed a squad built on impact, and versatility.
The 34-year-old mystery spinner rewrote the record books during the fifth and final T20I against South Africa at Ahmedabad on Friday, casting a spell of his bamboozling spin magic on the Proteas batters, four of them surrendering to his bowling.
Skipper Suryakumar Yadav and his deputy Shubman Gill's indifferent form is a massive concern but the national selection committee is unlikely to make any shocking changes when it picks the 15-member squad for next year's T20 World Cup in Mumbai on Saturday.
The lack of runs from captain Suryakumar Yadav and his deputy Shubman Gill remains a talking point.
India beat South Africa by seven wickets on Sunday to take a 2-1 lead in the T20 series after their bowlers skittled the tourists for 117, with Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh's performance setting up the platform for a dominant win for the hosts in Dharamsala.
In keeping with workload management for frontline pacers, spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is also likely to be rested from the three-match ODI series, which carries little significance in the build-up to the T20 showpiece.
The fourth T20I between India and South Africa was called off on Wednesday owing to poor visibility after a dense layer of smog engulfed the Ekana Stadium raising serious questions about BCCI's scheduling of matches in northern part of India during peak winter month.
South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad termed his team's tour of India "a very successful one" and expressed hope that the two teams meet once again in the final of the next year's T20 World Cup.
Shubman Gill was ruled out of the second Test against South Africa and the recently concluded three-match ODI series due to a neck injury.
Former South Africa pace ace Dale Steyn feels Suryakumar Yadav's "secure, welcoming, and willing to adjust" captaincy brings out the best in the players, who in turn back their skipper.
While the white-ball trophy cabinet kept getting heavier, Team India's fortunes in Test cricket swung wildly between hope and despair in 2025.
Producer-Director Aanand L Rai and his wife Yogita threw a grand Diwali bash for their friends and colleagues from the film industry.
SMAT 2025: Hardik comeback on cards, chance for rich domestic talent to shine before IPL auction
Fourteen years after their last title, Pakistan's golden era at the Hong Kong Sixes roared back to life. A commanding 43-run victory over Kuwait in the 2025 final at Mission Road Ground, Mong Kok, crowned them champions for a record sixth time, a feat unmatched by any other nation.
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